Meeting and Boardroom Tables for Commercial Projects: Tops, Bases and Cable Management Specified for Your Project

A meeting or boardroom table is judged in the room by its top, by how its legs sit relative to the people around it, and by the cables that are meant to disappear. Quotations for the same drawing differ most in the places the schedule leaves open: the top construction, the joints in a long table, the base and the power parts.

FBM Furniture works with companies only: Developers · General Contractors · Builders · Commercial Project Owners · Interior Design & Construction Companies · FF&E Solution Providers. Send the room plans, the schedule and the quantities, so we can compare the same drawing line by line.

Product scope

• Boardroom and conference tables in one piece or in sections
• Meeting tables in rectangular, round, boat and modular shapes
• Tables with built-in cable management, power and data modules
• Training and flip-top tables that sit with the meeting-room range

Task and meeting chairs, workstations and storage come from different production lines. See our pages on office furniture, task and meeting chairs and office workstations and height-adjustable desks, and our guide to flip-top training tables.

What to specify before requesting quotes

Schedule field	What to record
Item code and quantity	One code per table type and size, with the quantity per room type, floor or tenancy.
Room plan	The plan with the table position, the number of seats, the chair spacing and the clearances to walls and doors.
Size and shape	Overall length, width and height as drawn, with the shape and any radius or taper written out.
Top	Top material, thickness, edge profile and the joints between sections, written for the model quoted.
Base	Base type, material and finish, the number of supports and how each is fixed to the top and to the floor.
Cable management	Grommets, trays, flip-up modules or floor boxes the drawing shows, the position of each and who supplies the electrical parts.
Finish	Finish name or code and colour reference for top, edge and base, with an approved sample against each item code.
Delivery split	How the table is split for transport and site access, where the joints fall and how sections are aligned on site.
Evidence required	The test or certification the specification requires, with standard and edition, for the materials offered and the destination named.
Packing	How tops and bases are protected and marked by room, and which parts ship separately.

The table is a checklist. Add a line for anything your project needs that is not listed, such as acoustic or glass inserts, writing surfaces or a mobile or folding mechanism.

Tops and edges

The top is the part people touch and the part that shows wear first. Ask each maker to describe the core, the surface and the edge for the exact model, to state how an edge is protected against knocks from chairs and trolleys, and to show the joint detail on a drawing. For veneered and laminated tops, ask which surface material is used, how the edge is finished and whether replacement panels can be matched later. Write the finish as a code with an approved sample and keep the sample as the reference for the bulk order.

Bases and fixing

A long boardroom table is only as steady as its base. Record the base type, the number of supports and the way each is fixed to the top, and say whether the table is freestanding or fixed to the floor. Ask the factory to show the fixing on its drawing and to say how levelling is done on an uneven floor. Where a table has a pedestal or a central support, ask where the support sits relative to the chair positions on your plan, because a base that looks right in a render can collide with the chairs around it.

Cable management and power

Power and data are where a table fails the people using it. Decide in the schedule where each module sits, which cables run through the table and where they leave it, and who supplies each electrical part. Electrical standards and plug types depend on the destination, so state the destination in the schedule; our guide to voltage and electrical standards for imported products sets out the questions to ask. Ask each maker whether modules are supplied by the factory or by you, and request the documents for any electrical part in the name of its maker.

Large tables: sections, joints and site access

Many boardroom tables are too long for one piece. Write down how the table is split, where the joints fall, how sections are aligned and what the room’s door and lift allow. Ask the factory to show the joint and alignment detail on its drawing and to say how sections are marked so that the site team assembles them in the right order. Agree who carries out the assembly and who checks the joints on completion.

Rules to name in the specification

The rules that apply to meeting tables depend on the destination, the building and the materials. Name the requirement in the specification and ask each factory what evidence it can provide for the exact model offered. Three that come up on tables with composite wood tops are set out below; your specifier or certifier decides what applies to your project.

• United States: 40 CFR Part 770 contains formaldehyde emission standards, testing and certification provisions and other requirements for composite wood products, component parts and finished goods that contain them, and § 770.1(b)(3) applies the part to such products that are sold, supplied, offered for sale or manufactured, including imported, in the United States. Under § 770.45(c) a fabricator of finished goods labels each finished good, or each box or bundle, with at least the fabricator’s name, the date produced in month and year, and a statement that the goods are TSCA Title VI compliant. We read the part as published in the eCFR, full text as of 9 October 2026.
• Canada: the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (SOR/2021-148) apply, under section 3, to any composite wood product that contains formaldehyde, subject to the exceptions in section 4. Section 5 prohibits importing, selling or offering for sale such a product unless the emission limits are met, the person retains a copy of the declaration of certification for the product type and the person provides the information set out in section 31 to the Minister. We read the Regulations on the Justice Laws website, which records their last amendment on 18 March 2025.
• Australia: wooden furniture imports are subject to the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 and the Rules 2024; see our reading of the Illegal Logging Prohibition Rules for wooden contract furniture and our Australia and New Zealand compliance page.

Our United States and Canada compliance pages explain how we approach the main rules. For a project that included round tables for a Melbourne office, see the case study Office Lounge Seating and Round Tables for a Melbourne Office Project: 2 x 40HQ.

Samples, approval and acceptance on delivery

Approve a finished sample of the top with its edge and finish, and of the base and any cable module, not a photograph, before bulk production, and record the approval in writing against the item code. Keep the approved sample as the reference for the bulk order. Our guide to samples, finishes and approvals sets out the sequence. On delivery, check a sample of cartons against the order: item code, size, finish, hardware and quantity of each part, and note any difference in writing with photographs on the day. Before shipment our own team checks quantities, dimensions, finish, hardware and packing against the signed-off specification, and you receive a QC report with photos and video.

What to request from the factory

• A description of the top, edge, base, fixing and joints for each item code, with the sample reference.
• A finished sample of the top with edge and finish, and of the base and any cable module.
• Evidence the specification asks for, issued for the materials offered and the destination named.
• Drawings showing the joints, the fixing and the way the table is split and aligned.
• A packing and marking description by room, and a statement of any proposed substitution for approval before production.

Send the plans, schedule and quantities together. For related reading see our guide to coworking space furniture and our office pantry and break room furniture guide. FBM Furniture is the furniture-focused team of FBM Sourcing, which manages the entire China procurement package for overseas construction projects.

Frequently asked questions

What should a meeting or boardroom table specification include?

Give the room plan with the table position and the number of seats, the overall size and shape, the top material and edge, the base type and how it is fixed, the cable management and power the drawing shows, and the finish codes with approved samples against each item code.

Who decides how a large table is split for transport?

The designer and the factory decide together, from the room drawing and the access route. Put the split lines and the joint type in the schedule and ask the factory to show them on its drawing, so that a table that must pass through a door is planned for it.

Who supplies power and data parts for the table?

Settle this in the schedule. Ask each maker whether grommets, trays, power modules and cables are included, which electrical parts the destination requires and who supplies them.

Can tops and bases come from different makers?

They can, but dimensions, fixings and finishes then have to be matched by your team. Give each maker the same drawing and finish codes and approve samples side by side before bulk production.

How does FBM Furniture charge for office furniture?

For suppliers you nominate, we charge a 5% commission; for products we source for you, we quote a direct price. Our own team performs one inspection after bulk production is complete and before shipment, and your team is welcome to attend.